Unitary ironing table pad and cover set and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A unitary pad and cover set for an ironing table and its method of manufacturer wherein a web of conventional, needle punched, cotton-rayon pad material is treated on both of its sides with a flexible, acrylic latex composition that dries tacky and is superimposed over a web of conventional aluminized cotton cover material. A unitary set is achieved by a drying operation including a pair of heated drums and a plurality of infrared heating elements whereby the dried latex composition between the webs of padding and cover material adheres the two webs together to form a unitary web and the latex composition on the exposed side of the web of padding material is dried tacky. The unitary set is then formed by a die cutting operation with subsequent edge binding.

United States Patent Steinbronn 1451 Sept. 19, 1972 [54] UNITARY IRONING TABLE PAD AND COVER SET AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE [72] Inventor: George J. Steinbronn, Philadelphia,

Pa. I

[73] Assignee: Proctor-Silex Corporation, Phila.,

221 Filed: Jan. 8, 1971 211 Appl.No.: 105,048

2,874,471 2/1959 Palmer ..38/l40 Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Robert S. Vermut 5 7] ABSTRACT 52 US. Cl ..3s/140, 38/66 A unitary Set is achieved by a drying OPeYatiO" 511 int. Cl. ..D06f 81/14 cluding a Pair heated drums and a plurality [58] Field of Search "38/66 140 156/60 frared heating elements wherebythe dried latex composition between the webs of padding and cover [56] References Cited material adheres the two webs together to form a unitary web and the latex composition on the exposed UNITED STATES PATENTS side of the web of padding material is dried tacky. The l 895 73] 1/1933 Prenzel 38/140 unitary set is then formed by a die cutting operation b t d I 3,064,374 11/1962 Dwinell et al ..38/140 M Seque e ge m mg 2,873,544 2/ i959 Boman ..38/ 140 9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures I J r J {J r I f A A 0 Op figgz l lgwlllmllmllla PAIE'N'TEflser 19 m FIG.

K f Z 6% \JM w x M x1 6 LI 6 w. a I V WW 2 INVENTOR George J. Sreinbronn ATTORNEY UNITARY IRONING TABLE 'PAD AND COVER SET AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to the field of material processing and, more particularly, to the field of pad and cover set formation for ironing tables.

2. Description of the Prior Art Specifically with respect to pad and cover sets for ironing tables, the prior art is dominated by the conventional use of separate pads and covers with the cover having retaining means so that when superimposed over the pad it may hold the pad and itself in secure relation to the ironing table top. Another portion of the prior art has directed itself toward the unitary construction of a pad and cover set by adhering the pad and cover together or by edge binding the pad and cover together. The latter portion of the prior art is best exemplified by U. S. Pat. Nos. 1,895,731 and 2,999,325, the former patent disclosing a pad adapted to be adhered by the user to a cover having a vulcanizable coating thereon and the latter patent disclosing a stitching operation about the peripheries of a pad and cover to edge bind the two together.

The unitary pad and covers set constructions of the prior art each presented the user with a number of problems difficult to overcome. For example, the cover shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,895,731 can be peeled away from the pad as easily as it is adhered thereto, and the unitary set does not provide a desirable surface contact between the table top and itself in order to preclude relative movement therebetween during an ironing operation. The cover shown in U. S. Pat. No. 2,999,325 is merely joined along its periphery to the pad by stitching and does not provide intermediate fixed contact between the pad and itself to sufficiently reinforce and maintain the pad form. In addition, the unitary set is principally maintained in firm contact with an ironing table top by securement means adapted to underlie the table top which, after some usage, tends to allow movement between the set and the table top.

Also, the set constructions of the prior art, whether unitary or not, have failed to meet the problem of deterioration due to the moisture and heat effect of steam penetration and iron soleplate contact.

The present invention has met the problems of the prior art in its unitary set construction as well as its method of manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed toward a unitary pad and cover set and its method of manufacture wherein a web of pad material is treated on both its sides, is subsequently superimposed on a webgof cover material and then dried to adhere to it the web of cover material as well as provide an exposed surface which is tacky. The resultant unitary web is then cut and formed into the unitary set for use on an ironing table top.

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when reading the following description and claims in light of the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the method of manufacture; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the unitary pad and cover set shown in part.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawing with reference numerals, in FIG. 1, a system for the production of unitary pad and cover sets is shown. The web of pad material designated generally at l is initially prepared under conventional techniques including carding, lapping and needle punching of fibers. Although numerous pad materials may be employed in the present invention, it has been found that the carding and lapping of cotton fibers to produce a seven ounce per square yard web, the carding and lapping of rayon fibers to produce a three ounce per square yard web and the subsequent needle punching of the cotton fiber web superimposed over the rayon fiber web produces a very desirable pad material for use in the present invention.

The web of pad material, as shown in Flg. l, is fed without tension over a series of rolls 2 to a coating area generally designated at 3 which comprises an upper spray treatment 4 and a lower roller treatment 5. The spray and roller treatments are intended to effect, respectively, the application of a composition which dries tacky to one side of the web 1 and an adhesive to the other side of the web. For purposes of the preferred embodiment, it has been found that the use of a flexible, acrylic latex composition which dries tacky, as, for example, Goodrich I-Iycar Acrylic Latex 2,600X83, serves both purposes and thereby permits a further eff ciency in operation. This efficiency is accomplished, as shown in FIG. 1, by positioning the conventional equipment for the spray treatment directly above the pan 6, which acts as a coating reservoir for the roller 5, so that excess spray of latex composition is caught in the pan 6 and provides additional coating composition for the roller 5. Thus, the web of pad material 1 leaves the coating area 3 having both of its sides coated. Again, although the preferred embodiment discloses a coating of similar composition for both sides of the web, the present invention merely contemplates the application of an adhesive to the underside of the web, as shown in FIG. 1, and the application of a composition which dries tacky to the upper side of the web 1.

During the processing of the web 1, a web of cover material generally designated at 7 and preferably made of aluminized cotton is fed from a roll 8 under tension by the driving cylinders 9. The web of cover material 7 is carried under tension by a second series of rolls 10 to a final point of superimposition with the web 1 at the drying area generally designated at 13. The drying area comprises a pair of heated drums l1 and 12 and a plurality of infrared heating means 14 radially spaced from the drum 11. The webs l and 7 are juxtaposed so that the aluminized side of the web 7 is facing away from the web 1 into contact with the drum 11. Thus, the latex composition applied by the roller 5 will act as an adhesive to permanently and securely join the webs l and 7 upon drying.

In its initial drying position about drum 11, the web 1 has its latex composition coating which was applied by the spray treatment 4 exposed so that upon leaving the drying area 13 the coating has dried tacky. As is apparent from FIG. 1 the side exposure of the webs l and 7 as they are transferred from drum 11 to drum 12 is reversed so that the aluminized side of the web 7 is exposed about drum 12. In order not to create an adherence problem between the web 1 and the drum 12 because of the latex coating, the drum 12 is coated with a non-stick finish such as Duponts Teflon Finish, thus permitting the latex composition to dry tacky but yet not adhere the web 1 to the drum 12. The drying drums l 1 and 12 are of conventional construction and are so dimensioned as to provide sufficient drying time to obtain the adherence of the webs l and 7 and permit the latex composition coating which is to be exposed in the unitary set to dry tacky. The drum 11 does not require a non-stick finish because the aluminized side of the web 7 is in contact with it as the webs move about it.

A unitary web intermediate product generally designated at 15 leaves the drying area 13 and is transferred to die cutting and binding operations by pull rolls 16 which, under conventional drive mechanisms, maintain constant feed of the webs 1 and 7 and the intermediate product 15 through their processing. it should be noted that the driving cylinders 9 merely govern the tension in and the delivery speed of the web 7 as the roll 8 is depleted.

The die cutting operation generally designated at 17 forms the final configuration of the unitary pad and cover set under conventional die cutting principles. Referring-now to FIG. 2, the die cutting operation 17 is succeeded by an edge binding operation not shown in FIG. 1, which furnishes a binding 21 along the entire periphery of the die cuttings. The binding 21 is stitched to the periphery of the die-cut, unitary pad and cover set at 22 and includes straps at the set corners for retaining the set on an ironing table top as a supplement to its tacky surface contact therewith.

Although not considered a part of the present invention, a foaming operation may be adapted to the present invention whereby a foam layer is applied to the side of the web 1 exposed at drum 11. Thus, the cylinder 18 may furnish a layer of foam material generally designated at 19 and preferably made of polyurethane to the drum 11 to be superimposed over the web 1 at the nip roll 20. The foam layer 19 is subsequently adhered to the web 1 through the latex coating, previously sprayed thereon, at the drying area 13 to thereby provide an increased pad and cover set thickness and cushioning effect which some users desire.

The drying area 13 includes the heated drums 11 and 12 each being approximately 23 inches in diameter and set within a temperature range of 300350 F. The feed rate of the webs in feet per minute resulting in a drying time of approximately 20 seconds. The feed rate may be varied by changing the number of revolutions per minute of the pull rolls 16 and correspondingly changing the number of revolutions per minute of the driving rolls 9. if a composition other than the flexible latex composition of the preferred embodiment is to be utilized within the present invention, it may be necessary to change the temperature range within which the heated drums operate and/or the exposure time to these drums. The latter may be accomplished by either increasing or decreasing the feed rate of the webs or the diarnetric dimension of the drums 11 and 12 to either increase or decrease their respective circumferences.

The present invention has thus disclosed a unitary pad and cover set for placement on an ironing table top. The set provides a tacky surface for uniform, transient adhesion of the set to an ironing table top in supplementation of strap retainers as well as a cover which is permanently and uniformly adhered to a pad and fits it perfectly by being concurrently cut with it. The present invention thereby precludes relative shifting between the pad and cover and between the pad and ironing table top and appreciably decreases the rate of deterioration of the pad which is held firmly in position during use by its secure sandwiching between the cover and the table top.

Since the preferred embodiment may be modified in numerous ways within the scope of the present invention, as, for example, by changes in web materials and the coating compositions, the preferred embodiment should be viewed as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

l. A unitary pad and cover set adapted to be positioned on an ironing table top comprising a layer of cover material and a layer of pad material, said layers being adhered together along at least part of their adjacent surfaces, and said layer of pad material having its surface adapted to be in contact with said ironing table top tacky at least in part.

2. The pad and cover set recited in claim 1 further comprising edge binding means extending along at least part of the periphery of said set and being securely fastened to each of said layers.

3. The set recited in claim 1 wherein said tacky surface is formed by a flexible latex composition which has been dried tacky.

4. The set recited in claim 3 wherein said composition is also applied between said layers and acts to adhere said layers together.

5. The method of making a unitary pad and cover set comprising the steps of feeding a web of cover material to a first point, feeding a web of pad material to a treatment area, applying an adhesive coating to one side of said web of pad material, applying a coating which can be dried tacky to the other side of said web of pad material, feeding said web of pad material to said first point, superimposing said webs at said first point along said adhesive coating, heating said superimposed webs, and forming said set.

6. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein said first and second mentioned coatings are the same material and said steps of applying said first and second mentioned coatings include the steps of spraying said coating which can be dried tacky and rolling said adhesive coating, and positioning the reservoir for roller coating material directly below the area of spraying to catch excess spray coating material therein.

7. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein said step of forming said set includes die cutting and edge binding said webs.

9. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein the step 5 of heating said webs includes the step of rotating said webs about a first heated drum with one of said webs adjacent said drum and then rotating said webs about a second heated drum with the other of said webs adjacent said second drum. 

1. A unitary pad and cover set adapted to be positioned on an ironing table top comprising a layer of cover material and a layer of pad material, said layers being adhered together along at least part of their adjacent surfaces, and said layer of pad material having its surface adapted to be in contact with said ironing table top tacky at least in part.
 2. The pad and cover set recited in claim 1 further comprising edge binding means extending along at least part of the periphery of said set and being securely fastened to each of said layers.
 3. The set recited in claim 1 wherein said tacky surface is formed by a flexible latex composition which has been dried tacky.
 4. The set recited in claim 3 wherein said composition is also applied between said layers and acts to adhere said layers together.
 5. The method of making a unitary pad and cover set comprising the steps of feeding a web of cover material to a first point, feeding a web of pad material to a treatment area, applying an adhesive coating to one side of said web of pad material, applying a coating which can be dried tacky to the other side of said web of pad material, feeding said web of pad material to said first point, superimposing said webs at said first point along said adhesive coating, heating said superimposed webs, and forming said set.
 6. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein said first and second mentioned coatings are the same material and said steps of applying said first and second mentioned coatings include the steps of spraying said coating which can be dried tacky and rolling said adhesive coating, and positioning the reservoir for roller coating material directly below the area of spraying to catch excess spray coating material therein.
 7. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein said step of forming said set includes die cutting and edge binding said webs.
 8. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein the step of heating said webs includes exposing said webs to infrared heating means while rotating said webs about a heated drum.
 9. The method set forth in claim 5 wherein the step of heating said webs includes the step of rotating said webs about a first heated drum with one of said webs adjacent said drum and then rotating said webs about a second heated drum with the other of said webs adjacent said second drum. 